BOTH Heritage Western Cape and the Drakenstein Heritage Assocation have objected to the approval granted to the Paarl Waterfront Development by the Department of Environmental Affairs, according to the Drakenstein Heritage Bulletin.
According to Heritage Western Cape they believe there are certain heritage resources that will be affected by the proposed development. BELCom (the Built Environment and Landscape Committee of Heritage Western Cape) expressed its concern that 80% of the proposed development is below the 1:100 year flood line and did not approve of the vernacular architectural style proposed, as the gables would be out of scale and character with the environs.
A Phase 2 Heritage Assessment with public participation was requested, but not undertaken. Nevertheless, the Department of Environmental Affairs issued an environmental authorisation in April last year, which Heritage Western Cape did not receive within the comment period.
As a result HWC has formally appealed against the environmental authorisation of the development on the grounds that their comments were not taken into consideration as required by the National Heritage Resources Act.
The Drakenstein Heritage Foundation has also strongly objected to the approval, on the grounds that the development on the banks of the Berg River in inappropriate.
“Both environmental and procedural laws have been disregarded in the application and the DHF has objected strongly all along. Our objections and appeal have been disregarded on procedural ground, but we reserve our rights and will institute an interdict the moment construction work starts on the project,” the Minister was informed.
) The Drakenstein Heritage Foundation has also expressed its concern about plans to develop an agri-village in the Nieuwedrift rural area near Boland wine cellar, as such a development would be more suitable in the south-east of Paarl. The DHF has objected to the revised urban edge approved by the municipality as part of the spatial development framework, as it does not take into account the heritage component in the rural areas included.
